"In principle it is to be sold, as it is a special stone, good practices recommend that, if sold, it should be auctioned," said Ganga Júnior, speaking to Lusa agency, on the sidelines of the announcement ceremony of the winning companies of the international public tender for diamond and phosphate concessions in Angola.
According to Ganga Júnior, this stone was discovered last week.
In a statement released this week, Endiama announced the discovery of the 171-carat diamond in the Lulo mine, in the province of Lunda Norte, where the largest diamond ever found in Angola was also found.
"We are in no hurry, because even if we do an auction, people are unable to come (due to the covid-19 pandemic), so let's take it easy. The truth is that it will be at auction and whoever offers better conditions will buy," he said.
Ganga Júnior stressed that the possible drop in the post-covid-19 price, "is an issue that has to be managed".
"In the current circumstances it is not good to be in a hurry to sell and we do not need to put everything on sale at the same time, that is why we had to create a financial cushion, in the sense that this pressure on the sale does not occur", he stressed.
The white gem, extracted in block 6 of the mine, is the 15th of more than 100 carats recovered in Lulo, the 2nd of more than 100 carats explored in 2020, and the 4th largest since the beginning of operations, Endiama said in a statement.
Blocks 06 and 08 were responsible for the production of 13 to 15 stones with more than 100 carats from this mine, including the largest diamond ever found in Angola (2016), with 404.2 carats.
The Lulo mining company, which operates the mine, is formed by Endiama, the Australian company Lucapa Diamond and Rosa e Pétalas.
